Urban parks preferences for usability at Taman Tasik Seremban, Malaysia

Urban Park is an important space in a particular city. The development of modern urban park can be traced back to Birkenhead Park in Liverpool, which was designed by Joseph Paxton in 1847. The park aims to bring more public green spaces in the city that can help to minimize the impact of industrialization. The park is becoming very popular for its greenery, recreation activities and a place for solitude. Soon, the idea of urban park was being imitated in other cities around the world. Nevertheless, there are parks that are underutilized or not being used. Malaysia, as a country that started to look into the development of urban park more seriously since 1996, also faces the same issue. Using Taman Tasik Seremban as a site study, 196 park users have been surveyed regarding their needs and preferences for park usability. The survey participants were asked to rate how much they prefer to engage in 35 items related to park activities and from factor analysis, five usability dimensions emerged. They are named passive observation and contemplation, passive observation and socializing, exploration, physical activities and family activities. Ranking of the dimensions by using the mean scores show that the most preferred dimension or activities is related to families and the least preferred activity s is exploration. The findings suggest that the design of an urban park in Malaysian cities, particularly in Seremban, should focus more on providing facilities to the family and social activities rather than individual facilities

Sustainability in reference and response to COVID-19 pandemic

This year we are been surprised by the spread of novel coronavirus name COVID-19. Due to the virus’s active infectious nature, the virus that had started in Wuhan, China has now spread all over the world. World Health Organization or WHO declares that COVID -19 is a pandemic and to date, almost 9.6 million people have been infected and almost 500,000 people have perished. Almost no countries have been spared and the calamity has been equated with Spanish Flu Pandemic from 1918 – 1920. With COVID-19 spread rapidly, many countries had issued a lockdown order in which force people to stay indoors, practice social distancing, and maintain a high level of personal hygiene. The situation has caused businesses and economies to stand still and many countries started to look at the short- and long-term measures to reignite the economy, reduce economic retraction, and to avoid recession. In contrast, during the lockdown, the nature and wellbeing of the environment thrive. Our rivers are getting cleaner so does the air quality due to reduce numbers of factory operated and vehicles on the roads. The situation shows the two-prong effects if people’s activities are reduced at the extreme. Nevertheless, as countries slowly lifting the lockdown measures and people return to normalcy, it is very important to observe and be creative on how to ensure that both nature and economic activities can thrive sustainably

Performance of public spaces in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan region in terms of the tropical climate

The Greater Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Region is one of the fastest growing regions in Malaysia and in the last decade has witnessed a spate of new residential, institutional and commercial development. Much of this development has been mainly market driven and guided by economic and political reasons. Such rapid property led development often neglects the local traditions, the natural settings and the local tropical climate and as a result has a detrimental impact on the surrounding public space. The aim of this study is to analyse the state of existing selected public spaces in the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Region against a set of recognised universal evaluative criteria for tropical design followed by identifying a set of measures to remedy existing deficiencies. The nature of this research is predominantly qualitative conducted through intense contact in the real urban life. The research methods include literature review, content analysis, field assessment and visual observations on suitable case study areas. The analysis revealed that a majority of public spaces in the region are not pedestrian friendly and do not reflect the tropical climate, being devoid of trees and vegetation. Future development of public open spaces in appreciation of the local tropical climate, local traditions, identity and character would significantly contribute to a holistic environment, viable economy and social equilibrium

Linking place attachment and social interaction: towards meaningful public places

Purpose A public space is a place of significance when it fulfils the human need for social interaction and attachment. However, the scarcity of public spaces poses a challenge to support socialisation for people within a defined social and cultural group. The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between place attachment and social interaction within public spaces in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach Face-to-face interviews with urban users were conducted to examine the users’ engagement in three main public spaces in the city and the significance of these spaces to everyday social interaction. Field observations were carried out to examine patterns of users’ activities and interactions. Findings The authors uncover a lack of multi-functional spaces to support diverse forms of interactions in the city. A street has an important function to generate activities. However, spaces for people to sit and stay remain scarce, and are in most cases consumed by extended commercial use and thus considered private. Opportunities for social interaction are very limited. The significance of the places relates strongly to commercial and tourism functions, and hence place attachment evolves around those activities. Participants associated their familiarity and engagement with interaction between familiar people, close ethnic relationships and business acquaintances. Practical implications The authors argue that more robust and socially responsive public spaces should be reclaimed for the culturally diverse users. Social implications Development of attachment through meaningful spaces for people to stay and interact could enhance the role of public spaces in the city. Originality/value By understanding the social meanings of places, particularly in a multi-cultural setting, a stronger basis for designing and managing urban places towards resiliency and social sustainability can be provided

The influence of context and urban structure on the walkability of Bukit Bintang commercial district, Kuala Lumpur

According to Wall and Waterman (2009), the walkability of an urban district is influenced by the contextual integration between the district and the surrounding areas as well as the structure of the urban fabric. This paper discusses the context and the urban structure of Bukit Bintang Commercial District in light of the walkability criteria. Using the criteria adapted from various scholars, this study measures the walkability of the district and identifies the influencing factors through field observations. The findings indicate that the success of Bukit Bintang district as a walkable urban place is supported by the connectivity of the area to the adjacent urban nodes of Pudu and Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). The structure of the urban fabric (i.e. streets, open spaces and buildings) is legible, which provides ease of movement. However, the permeability is low in the newer parts of the area due to the presence of longer urban blocks and larger footprint shaped by the modern shopping complexes built in the 1980’s. The findings denote the need for enhanced legibility of smaller urban spaces and improved permeability of larger urban blocks. This will increase the walkability of Bukit Bintang Commercial District for the pedestrian comfort of walkin